Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1887-11-19

lilCll IL lhblblIVl tictllull law W III IA
istence, as for instance those OF
Australia. or Switzerland and Bel
GUM, which effectively prevents the
influencing of voters at the polls, as
well as the stealing and supprcssing
of ballots, and the Justification Of the
result of the election, there could
be no doubt, whatsoever, but that
the candidates Of the workingmcn
would be successful 10y overwhelming
ma orities. TO attain such an end
the workingmon should agitato in
cessantly for Il rational and radical
change Of the present mode in vogue
at elections.
The ballots containing the names
Of candidates Of all parties should be
furnished by the State or Municipal
authorities. There would, then, be
no pretcnse on the part of political
spectators to hire and bride men to
distribute their tickets among the
electors as it is done at present. Nor
could the tickets be stolen. and 9TH
ers substituted in their stead, Il trick
which is called "selling out, and
for which the present sneakthicf pol
ltlcians are paying large sums of
money to the criminals trained to
successfully perform it. At the
same time the disgraceful and an
noying peddIng of tickets in front
Of the polling places should be pro-
hlblted, and violations punished by
fine and imprisonment. The ballots
should be kept inside of the polling
places only where the voters may
find them in small enclosures just
large enough to admit one person, to
be secured on all sides against ob,
servaton in order to make the pro-
cess of placing the ballot in an en-
velope perfectly secret, the sealed en-
yelope to be dropped in the ballot
box when the voter emerges from
the enclosure, This system has been
tried very successfully in Australia,
Switzerland and Belgium, and it has
been proven that intimidation and
fraud, rs they are pfacticcd at pres
ent in this Republic, are impossible
under its workings.
Any person with any ability to
soundly reason will be persuaded
that these propositions on the part of
THE Hummer, if discussed by the la
Dor organizations of this country in
general, will secure us the sympa-
thies of all citizens who, in regard
to other questions, do not yet agree
with rs upon the necessity of abol-
lshlng the present capitaistic mode
of production. For, the entire
American people, with the exception
Of the inslgniticantIy small gang Of
thieving, lying, hypocritical, profess
sional politicians, are opposed to and
hate political corruption as it pre-
walls to-day. 1t is universally con
coded among all decent and honest
citizens, that in the large cities of
this country there are no longer pure
and honest elections. A profession
al politician to-day is considered to
be no more and no less than a COM
mon criminal; and proposition, by
whose adoption the ring Of these
contemplate runians and scoundrels
would become impossible for all
times, would be hailed as a salvation
from terrible evil. A perfect po-
litical revolution would ensue. Ev-
erybody would applaud the working
men for having saved the country
from the clutches of the political
thieves. Let rs, therefore, come
before the public with the battle cry:
"DOwn with lie p2lih'M muffin" "
1t will resound throughout the coun-
try. 1t will rally all true and up
right men around our banners.
The machine must be smashed; it
must disappear from our political
horizon, and the true expression Of
public opinion must be put in its
place. If we succeed in this, we
will no longer be sold like cattle and
sheep to the highest bidder as is
now being done under the reign OF
the political machine which is
working in exactly the same man
ner as the one through whose econ
omic agency the majority of mankind